Isabella Madrid, News Editor
@Imadrid_courant
October’s calendar of school spirit events presents students with opportunities to rally together and celebrate the school community. The entire homecoming week, from Monday’s bonfire night to Saturday’s homecoming game and dance are activities designed to allow students to partake in school pride. However, despite the availability of these events, student participation has dwindled in recent years.
The Student Coalition (StuCo) is responsible for organizing events during homecoming week, working to create themes that appeal to students across different grades and genders. Student Body President Susanna Rittenberry explained the process behind planning spirit days, noting that it starts almost immediately after the school year begins. “Every year, the Student Coalition decides on the spirit week themes. We start planning right away,” she said. “We give our delegates time to brainstorm ideas, talk to friends, and see what each grade would enjoy participating in. Then, we take a vote on which spirit days to include.”
According to Susanna, participation didn’t meet expectations, but she is hopeful for the future. “Maybe in years to come, we’ll see a little bit of difference. I have to say, we got a little bit less participation than we would have wanted this year,” said Susanna.
Senior Riley Fortman explained how fun spirit week can be when people participate. “I love when everybody dresses up how the hallways feel alive. It was especially fun this year as a senior to get all dressed up and get fun pictures with my friends,” she said.
Riley explained that the biggest influence on other students is each other. “The students have the most influential role in getting students more involved in these activities,” she said.
Senior Sebastian Saridakis, noted a difference in levels of participation between when he was a freshman and now. “In my freshman year everyone participated across all grades, there was classwide and school wide participation for all the days. This year I feel that people are too embarrassed to show school pride,” he said.
In recent years, the upperclassmen attendance at the end of the week’s homecoming dance has been low, with the dance floors primarily filled by freshmen and sophomores. According to Sebastian, the dance is not the highlight of homecoming week. “The dance has always been less exciting for me. I think the tickets are very expensive, and the experience is overall not that fun,” he said.
Sebastian also brought up an unspoken standard around upperclassmen attending the dance, with many viewing it as an event for younger students. “I think there is a big stigma around upperclassmen going to the dance. It’s definitely viewed as something more for freshmen and maybe sophomores, definitely not seniors,” he said.
As the StuCo looks forward, they’re considering ways to engage as many students as possible in spirit activities. According to Susanna, some StuCo advisors offered their student’s extra credit. “I know in some classes, seniors were offered extra credit for attending and as a result homecoming dance participation definitely increased,” she said.
Other students have suggested simple, accessible themes, such as Pajama Day or Jersey Day, that don’t require additional spending on costumes. “If I have stuff to wear that goes with spirit days as well as other participation then I will do it. I think it can be expensive to participate so StuCo should definitely take that into account when picking themes,” said Sebastian.
Participating in school spirit establishes strong school culture and demonstrates support for something larger than oneself. Riley said, “I think that school spirit is really powerful. It fosters a strong sense of community which helps to create a supportive and motivational environment,” she said.
Susanna commended the Student Coalition’s efforts in promoting and participating in events. “I just want to shout out everyone on StuCo because everyone tried the best that they could by advertising. So I think it’s more just creating a different school culture where it’s fun and exciting to participate, which is something we’re thinking about already,” said Susanna.
